Connecting a Polycom VVX 601 VoIP

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Shadowfax
Posts:2
Joined:Sat Jan 30, 2021 5:13 pm
Connecting a Polycom VVX 601 VoIP

Post by Shadowfax » Sat Jan 30, 2021 5:25 pm

I have an Ooma Telo in my house. It's connected by cat 6 to a switch which is connected to a straight up fiber-to-the-home Internet connection. I used to use a regular analog Polycom phone w/ my Ooma. But it's 20 years old and it was time to upgrade to a new phone.

I bought a Polycom 601 VVX business phone, confirming w/ Ooma technical support before I bought it that it will work with the Ooma VoIP service.

However, being an actual VoIP phone and not an analog phone, it uses a typical cat 5/6 ethernet cable rather than the narrower RJ11 cords traditional analog phones use. Ooma Telo's port accepts only the smaller traditional cord as well.

So...how do I get this connected?

Is this going to be as simple as plugging the phone into Ooma with an RJ11-to-RJ45 adapter? Will it configure automatically? What else should I expect here?

MLXXXp
Posts:122
Joined:Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:46 am
Location:Toronto, Canada

Re: Connecting a Polycom VVX 601 VoIP

Post by MLXXXp » Sun Jan 31, 2021 10:17 am

You were misinformed. The Ooma Telo doesn't support VoIP phones.

Shadowfax
Posts:2
Joined:Sat Jan 30, 2021 5:13 pm

Re: Connecting a Polycom VVX 601 VoIP

Post by Shadowfax » Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:40 am

Not even with an RJ11 to RJ45 adapter?

That's odd; they looked up my account and knew which service I have.

If I switch to Ooma Small Business, can I use this phone?

If not, I'll return it and use an IP phone provided by Ooma, but I'd prefer to keep this one.

MLXXXp
Posts:122
Joined:Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:46 am
Location:Toronto, Canada

Re: Connecting a Polycom VVX 601 VoIP

Post by MLXXXp » Tue Feb 02, 2021 4:19 pm

If the RJ11 to RJ45 adapter is just a passive cable, then no. RJ11 is used for analog telephone signalling (POTS). RJ45 is used for digital telephones (VoIP) over ethernet.

I don't know anything about Ooma Small Business systems. The phones they sell are IP phones but I don't know if they're standard VoIP or customised so that only they work with Ooma (like the Ooma residential handsets are DECT but you can't use other DECT phones with a Telo). Maybe someone else here knows, or you would have to ask someone at Ooma. (Hopefully someone who knows what they're talking about, this time.)

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